Does anyone have any old photos of the Amatol Raceway/Factory/Village from when they were still standing or around? I believe the Raceway was from the 20s, so pics might be a "bit" rare, but, there's gotta be something. I wish to visit this place but would like to see old photos to try to "place" it all when I'm there. Otherwise, it's just a trail in the woods today. Also, where is a safe and legal place to park there?
Amatol Raceway and Ammunitions Village/Factory Remains, Hammonton, NJ
- Thread starter EddieD
- Start date
Sorry, no photos but there are several old threads about Amatol, such as this (use the search function to find some older ones)
forums.njpinebarrens.com
My maps have progessed a long way since that thread. The dark green areas on my 2020 topo are public openspace. As you can see, about 3/4 of the raceway is public but the rest is private
https://boydsmaps.com/#16.00/39.604132/-74.741562/pines2020/0.00/0.00
The site of the town has recently become public, which was not the case when that old thread was created.
https://boydsmaps.com/#16.00/39.593137/-74.681051/pines2020/0.00/0.00
More recently, high-resolution LIDAR data has become available for Atlantic County and you can explore it on a number of my maps, including the new 3d LIDAR views. Speedway:
https://boydsmaps.com/#17.05/39.603861/-74.741798/mbx3dsolid/124.80/68.60
Town of Amatol:
https://boydsmaps.com/#17.45/39.592916/-74.680956/mbx3dspectrum/-61.80/70.80
There are other LIDAR-based maps which you can explore for yourself. You can also use your phone as a GPS with these maps.
https://boydsmaps.com/#16.00/39.603861/-74.741798/lidar2021hd/0.00/0.00
https://boydsmaps.com/#16.00/39.603861/-74.741798/lidar2022hd/0.00/0.00
https://boydsmaps.com/#16.00/39.603861/-74.741798/lidar2021bw/0.00/0.00
FWIW, there are lots of photos and information about Bethlehem Loading Company (Belco), another WW1 munitions plant and village.
There are some substantial ruins still standing there in the Atlantic County Park at Estell Manor. These are also documented on my maps.
Amatol reports and mapping
As I have said on the other thread about Amatol, one of my pet projects has been exploring and trying to map out the area. I started this in November or early December with my friend Pete, who was shortly thereafter deployed overseas to Qatar/Iraq. We originally went out there after a new...
forums.njpinebarrens.com
My maps have progessed a long way since that thread. The dark green areas on my 2020 topo are public openspace. As you can see, about 3/4 of the raceway is public but the rest is private
https://boydsmaps.com/#16.00/39.604132/-74.741562/pines2020/0.00/0.00
The site of the town has recently become public, which was not the case when that old thread was created.
https://boydsmaps.com/#16.00/39.593137/-74.681051/pines2020/0.00/0.00
More recently, high-resolution LIDAR data has become available for Atlantic County and you can explore it on a number of my maps, including the new 3d LIDAR views. Speedway:
https://boydsmaps.com/#17.05/39.603861/-74.741798/mbx3dsolid/124.80/68.60
Town of Amatol:
https://boydsmaps.com/#17.45/39.592916/-74.680956/mbx3dspectrum/-61.80/70.80
There are other LIDAR-based maps which you can explore for yourself. You can also use your phone as a GPS with these maps.
https://boydsmaps.com/#16.00/39.603861/-74.741798/lidar2021hd/0.00/0.00
https://boydsmaps.com/#16.00/39.603861/-74.741798/lidar2022hd/0.00/0.00
https://boydsmaps.com/#16.00/39.603861/-74.741798/lidar2021bw/0.00/0.00
FWIW, there are lots of photos and information about Bethlehem Loading Company (Belco), another WW1 munitions plant and village.
There are some substantial ruins still standing there in the Atlantic County Park at Estell Manor. These are also documented on my maps.
Last edited:
It was called the Atlantic City Speedway and I believe it was was once owned by Charles Schwab. There are videos and old pictures on the internet. If you visit, there is not much to see except for some old garbage dumps, lots of broken glass, shoes and 2 old buildings from the Amatol plant. You can park at the middle at it is public but its private and posted on each end. As for the garbage, Hammonton was know for making glass and shoes. So I think due to the proximity this was just a dumping ground after the track fell into ruin.
http://www.speedwayandroadracehistory.com/atlantic-city-speedway.html
http://www.speedwayandroadracehistory.com/atlantic-city-speedway.html
Was just looking around Amatol a bit and see that Mapbox/Maxar has their nice (level 21?) imagery covering the racetrack site. Doesn't go far enough East to cover the town unfortunately.
https://boydsmaps.com/#16.09/39.603602/-74.740977/mbxhybrid/0.00/0.00
https://boydsmaps.com/#20.75/39.603381/-74.739337/mbxsat/0.00/0.00
The 3d terrain is pretty interesting there too
https://boydsmaps.com/#18.80/39.605528/-74.728922/mbx3dsolid/75.00/70.60
https://boydsmaps.com/#17.47/39.596481/-74.729445/mbx3dspectrum/35.40/68.80
https://boydsmaps.com/#16.09/39.603602/-74.740977/mbxhybrid/0.00/0.00
https://boydsmaps.com/#20.75/39.603381/-74.739337/mbxsat/0.00/0.00
The 3d terrain is pretty interesting there too
https://boydsmaps.com/#18.80/39.605528/-74.728922/mbx3dsolid/75.00/70.60
https://boydsmaps.com/#17.47/39.596481/-74.729445/mbx3dspectrum/35.40/68.80
Last edited:
Seems that they are using an https address without a proper security certificate. Could be something harmless. Or not...
I did wind up clicking through, and there were no promises of celebrity nudes or free money, just….pictures of Amatol. So if it is some sort of honeypot, they used the worst possible bait. LOL
